St. Viator thrives on home cooking

Give the St Viator girls basketball team an East Suburban Catholic Conference game - and the Lions will give their fans a victory.

They did it for the fourth straight time Wednesday night, this time registering a 53-33 victory over Nazareth Academy at the Cahill Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.

The Lions' 4 league wins are already 1 more than they had all last season (3-7).

"This is the best start we've had in conference since I've been here," said senior point guard Kelly Hendricks, who scored 9 points with a 3-pointer. "After Monday's loss (to Hoffman Estates), we just wanted to get back on the floor and get a win."

When the Lions returned to the floor for the second half, they were at their best.

Nursing a 19-17 lead at the break, the hosts (7-4, 4-0) blitzed the Roadrunners (3-5, 0-1) with an 18-4 run to start the third quarter and never looked back.

Junior forward Mary Calov tossed in a pair of 3-pointers during the rally, while Colleen Nolan had 6 points and was a force on the boards.

"A lot of times we won't come out strong and consistent to start the second half," Nolan said. "This time, we had a lot of energy. We were patient on offense and moved the ball around much better."

And the Lions' defense held the Roadrunners to 4 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter.

Hendricks had a steal and layup during the big run.

"I thought Kelly did a good job getting the team going for us, and the rest of the girls just went along," said Lions coach Paul Bjerkness. "Susan (Hohenadel, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds) did a nice job rebounding and distributing the ball."

Calov led the Lions with 9 rebounds, while Nolan pulled down 6.

"I thought Mary (Calov) Ronnie (Mack) and Colleen (Nolan) did a really nice job in the post," Bjerkness said. "And Jamie (Blenner) and Susan played well on the perimeter. The girls are believing in themselves and we're getting a lot of contributions."